Healthy Kitchen

"Healthy Kitchen" is an interactive cooking app that teaches children aged 5-10 how to prepare healthy meals through fun, step-by-step instructions. It also empowers parents to supervise and collaborate, fostering family bonding and healthy eating habits.

Responsibility’s

  • User Research

  • Interviews

  • Problem statement

  • User journey maps

  • Usability Studies

  • Wireframes

  • User Personas 

  • Mockups

  • High & Low Fidelity Prototypes

Client
Coursera Project

Year
11/2024 - 12/2024

My role
I worked on this project solo.

Goal

My goal is to design an app that delivers detailed, interactive cooking lessons for children, with a focus on engagement, accessibility, and fun. The app would offer step-by-step tutorials with clear visuals, voice guidance, and gamified elements to keep kids motivated.

Problem 

Young families desire engaging and educational cooking experiences. However, current options often fall short, lacking real-world cooking skills, interactive elements, and accessibility for young users. Parents are seeking a platform that fosters family bonding while making cooking fun and safe for their children.

User Research

To design 'Healthy Kitchen,' I conducted user research, including interviews, surveys, and a competitive audit. My initial assumption that children would heavily rely on parental guidance during the cooking process was challenged by research findings. Children, in fact, expressed a desire for independence, seeking clear, age-appropriate instructions and minimal parental intervention. Conversely, parents prioritized safety features and tools that supported their child's learning without taking over the experience. These insights led me to focus on creating features that empower children while providing parents with the necessary tools for a safe and enjoyable learning journey.

Pain Points

1

Lack of Independence

The lack of accessible and child-friendly resources presents a significant obstacle for children who wish to cook independently. This often leads to frustration and reliance on parental involvement.

2

Safety

Overly complicated instructions in many resources present a significant challenge for young learners. Children often struggle to follow complex steps, hindering their ability to cook independently.

3

Engagement Challenges

Children require interactive and engaging experiences to stay motivated. Current cooking apps often fall short in this regard, lacking the gamified elements that can make learning fun and exciting.

4

Complex Instructions

Safety concerns are a major barrier for parents in allowing their children to cook independently. This limits children's opportunities to develop essential life skills.

Persona

Lily Taylor

Age: 9

Education: Student

Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

Family: Mom, dad & brother

Hobbies: Arts & Crafts

Goals

  • Wants to learn how to make her own snacks and meals that are fun and tasty.

  • Wants to be able to surprise her family with meals she's learned.

Frustrations

  • Limited kitchen experience and requires guidance at each step

  • Traditional apps don’t offer kid-friendly content or are too text heavy.

Lily loves watching cooking shows with her mom and dreams of making fun, healthy meals. She’s excited to surprise her family with tasty dishes, but still needs a little help in the kitchen. Lily sees cooking as a way to be creative and have fun with food.

“I can’t wait to make something yummy and healthy that everyone will love!”

— Lily Taylor

Persona

Sarah Taylor

Age: 35

Education: Degree in Computer Technology

Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona

Family: Married, 2 children

Job Title: Freelance designer

Goals

  • To help her children learn basic cooking skills independently in a safe environment.

  • To instill a love for healthy eating and nutritional awareness in her kids.

Frustrations

  • Struggles to find kid-friendly resources that offer step-by-step guidance & ensuring safety.

  • Feels overwhelmed balancing work-home life.

Sarah, a busy freelance mom, wants her kids to learn cooking skills independently while staying safe. She loves cooking together as a family but hopes her children can eventually handle it on their own, building confidence and creativity. Sarah sees cooking as an essential life skill and a fun way to bond.

“I want my children to have fun and feel proud of what they make, but I need to know they are safe and learning good habits.”

— Sarah Taylor

User Journey Map

Empower Lily to explore cooking independently while ensuring her safety and confidence.

Focus on creating a learning experience that is simple, visual, and interactive, aligning with Lily's desire for independence and her need for a fun and engaging learning environment.

Persona: Lily Taylor

Goal: Learn to cook simple, healthy recipes independently.

User Journey Map

This journey map reveals key areas for design improvement: simplifying initial setup, streamlining recipe selection for children, and providing parents with meaningful progress updates. By addressing these insights, we can create a more user-friendly and engaging cooking app for both children and their parents.

Persona: Sarah Taylor

Goal: Ensure her child is learning safely and gaining useful cooking skills.

Information Architect

Paper Wireframes

I designed this app with kids in mind—playful, intuitive, and accessible. Using clear navigation, bold CTA buttons, and engaging interactions, I made sure every element was easy to understand. My focus was on creating a seamless, fun experience that keeps young users engaged while maintaining usability for the next billion users.

Digital Wireframes

To engage children, I incorporated gamified elements with achievements for completed recipes and words of encouragement to boost confidence. Recognizing the importance of parental involvement, I included features that allow parents to track their child's progress and provide words of encouragement, fostering a shared sense of accomplishment.

Low-Fidelity Prototype

The user journey begins on the homepage, where they can navigate to either the sign-up page or directly to food choices. Initially, the navigation follows a hierarchical structure, allowing exploration. Once a recipe is selected, the experience shifts to a linear, step-by-step flow, guiding users through the cooking process seamlessly. This structured progression ensures clarity and engagement, culminating in the completed recipe page for a satisfying user experience.

https://www.figma.com/proto/SBjyY8SO0RRZlofl1Xy7BA/Cooking-App?node-id=5-2&t=apAe7M40G6KeyvbB-1

Usability Study

Moderated usability study

United States, In-Person

5 Participants

10 - 15 Minutes

Findings

  • Achievement Section: Perceived as unclear and unengaging.

  • "Start" Button: Found to be difficult to reach and interact with.

  • Navigation: Users struggled with navigation and needed a clearer way to return to previous pages.

  • Visual Consistency: Issues noted with text and button alignment.

Before & After: Usability Improvements

Before usability study

To enhance the achievements page, I focused on making it more engaging and informative. I organized them into categories and made all interactive elements easily accessible with clickable buttons.

To address user feedback regarding the difficulty of reaching the 'Start' button, I repositioned it to the center of the screen and implemented a fixed header to ensure consistent accessibility.

After usability study

In my mockups, I balanced vibrant, engaging colors with a clean layout to avoid visual overload. I used playful yet concise copy alongside a legible sans-serif font to enhance readability for young users. Thoughtfully chosen, relatable imagery ensured a seamless and immersive user journey. During testing, I discovered a major navigation issue—users found it difficult to return to previous pages. To enhance usability, I incorporated a clear, intuitive back button, ensuring seamless navigation and a smoother user experience.

Mockups

High-Fidelity Prototype

I prioritized seamless user flow and personalization to enhance engagement. An avatar selection feature allows users to choose a character that reflects their personality, creating a more immersive and tailored experience. This small but impactful detail fosters a sense of ownership and connection, making the platform feel more interactive and user-centric.

https://www.figma.com/proto/SBjyY8SO0RRZlofl1Xy7BA/Cooking-App?node-id=53-4265&t=apAe7M40G6KeyvbB-1

Accessibility Considerations

I prioritized accessibility by adhering to WCAG color contrast guidelines. Dark text on light backgrounds is used throughout, with specific attention paid to ensuring sufficient contrast when using blue text.

To enhance accessibility for young users, I added a symbol that activates a voice feature, enabling the app to read the instructions aloud.

I chose a sans-serif font to enhance readability, particularly for users with visual impairments. This ensures a clear and accessible experience for all users.

Takeaways

Impact

The design of 'Healthy Kitchen' empowers children to confidently cook independently, prioritizing safety while fostering family bonding. The app creates an enjoyable and educational environment, helping young users learn essential cooking skills in a fun and secure way.

The impact of this app is significant—it not only promotes healthier eating habits by encouraging children to cook with fresh ingredients but also strengthens family connections as parents and children can cook together, creating meaningful experiences in the kitchen.

What I learned

User research revealed the importance of clear instructions, engaging visuals, and gamified elements to keep children motivated throughout the cooking process. Involving parents was crucial, as it fostered trust and encouraged family bonding. Through this experience, I learned how essential it is to balance children's independence with their safety needs while also acknowledging the value of parental reassurance. This project deepened my understanding of creating designs that cater to both the child’s desire for autonomy and the parent’s need for oversight, ultimately resulting in a more thoughtful and user-centered solution.

Next steps

To make safety information engaging, I would design a dedicated page with gamified video content. By turning safety lessons into an interactive game, users may feel motivated to learn and retain important information.

To keep the experience fresh, I would implement a daily 'New Task' feature with personalized meal suggestions. In addition to integrating a leaderboard system into the app. This feature would encourage users to actively participate in the cooking process while tracking their progress and achievements.

To ensure a safe and personalized experience, I would include a filter section that allows users to exclude meals based on allergies or sensitivities. The app would also adapt to the user's age or 'Chef Level,' providing simplified instructions for beginners and more creative options for advanced users."